Meet the Team - Vets

Kevin Beattie - Director
BVMS CertCHP MRCVS

After a short spell helping MAFF in Dumfries with the tragic Foot and Mouth Outbreak, Kevin joined Capontree Vets in 2001.

Initially Kevin was involved in all sectors of the practice, working at Haltwhistle surgery and on the road on farms and stables in the Brampton area.

Kevin comes from a dairy and beef suckler farming background, and has a real passion for cows and productive cattle farming. He opted to study for further qualifications in this area. By 2005 Kevin had been awarded by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons a “Certificate in Cattle Health and Production”.

Kevin generally can be found out and about doing routine farm work but also gets a lot of enjoyment from doing companion animal emergency work where many will have met him.

In 2006 when Esk Vets in Longtown merged with Capontree Vets, Kevin became a Director of Capontree and has been based at Longtown as Senior Clinician since then.

When not at work Kevin spends time at the family farm back in Lockerbie where he now has a small suckler herd of his own and with his wife and three kids they have recently set up a small calf rearing unit at his smallholding near Longtown. He can be seen there at weekends with his wife, children, calves, ponies, Jack Russell dog, two cats and now 12 sheep as well.

David McCrea - Director
BVM&S MRCVS

David qualified from Edinburgh University in 1998 having enjoyed 5 years of learning the science of being a vet. He has worked in Scotland, Australia and Northern Ireland and has gained a wide knowledge of farming and farm practices. David is a mixed veterinary surgeon however his main interest lies in farm animals.

David enjoys working closely with farmers trying to improve the health of their animals. He is a firm believer in the team approach to animal health and welfare; with farmer education and development an important role of the modern vet. David is a LANTRA-approved trainer which enables him to gain funding to run workshops and courses on behalf of XL Vets. He also keeps up to date with new information by reading veterinary publications and attending courses.

David enjoys the outdoor life - hill walking, gardening, attempting to keep fit and spending time with his wife, two young children and their many pets.

Dan Lewis - Director
BVSc Cert AVP MRCVS

Dan graduated from Bristol University in 2000. After 2 years in mixed practice he joined the PDSA where he worked until 2008.

Prior to joining us at Capontree, Dan worked in the Midlands in the small animal section of a busy mixed practice. He joined us in September 2010 and is one of our dedicated small animal vets, bringing experience in all areas of small animal practice and a particular interest in surgery, especially orthopaedics. Dan has taken this surgical interest to the next professional level available, successfully completing his Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in November 2014; the product of over 300 hours of study! He joined our board of Directors in April 2016.

Away from work Dan enjoys spending time in the mountains and has recently developed a keen interest in trail & fell running. In July 2016 he completed the Lakeland 50, a race around the fells of the Lake District where runners must complete a 50 mile course in less than 24 hours.

Andy Reid - Senior Associate
BMVS MRCVS

Andy was brought up on the family dairy farm in Ayrshire. He first came to Capontree as a student in 1998, graduating from Glasgow in 2000. He then joined a mixed practice in Dumfriesshire for a couple of years before the travel bug bite him, leading to 2 years working in a variety of locations in the UK and Australia as well as traveling in Africa and south east Asia.

Andy joined Capontree in a very mixed role in 2004 and has over time developed interests in a wide range of topics – from fertility issues to acupuncture and therapeutic laser treatment. Over time his role has moved from a mixed position to a predominantly small animal role.

Andy has an ever expanding collection of pets, which his wife and 3 children try to add to, from time to time!

Colin Lindsay - Clinical Director
BVM&S MRCVS

Colin joined the practice February 1991, after a short spell overseas undertaking charity work.

At that point there were three vets and four support staff. Over the years he has seen the practice develop and has had an opportunity to retain a broad interest in Companion Animals, Equine and Farm work alike. In March 2001 Colin had the privilege of being nominated and winning the Pet Plan – Vet of the Year Award. In September 2013, he was again nominated and awarded – UK Dairy Vet of the Year.

Colin has a particular interest in Orthopaedics and bovine herd health and production, also lecturing throughout the UK and abroad.

Outside of practice life his wife, who is also a veterinary surgeon at the practice, and Colin have a keen interest in the outdoors. Their hobbies include mountain hiking, climbing, mountaineering, ski- touring, - (in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia). They are also developing a keen interest in mountain and road cycling.

Within the local community, Colin is keen to support and develop the future generations of farmers. As a practice we support Young Farmers organisations and local Agricultural shows. Colin was a member of the Gilsland Show committee for 10 years.

Barbara Lindsay - Clinical Director
BVM&S MRCVS

Barbara joined the Capontree companion animal team in 2001 after working in various small animal practices & referral centres around the country, becoming a director in 2006.

She is interested in all aspects of pet health & care but has special interests in internal medicine & soft tissue surgery as well as endoscopy & ultrasonography

Away from the surgery she enjoys getting out in the fresh air with her husband & fellow clinical director Colin, fell walking, cycling & ski touring.

Mark Hayton
BVM&S MRCVS

Mark graduated in from the Dick Vet in Edinburgh in 2010 (with Distinction). He started at Capontree Vets the following month and has been here ever since. Having been brought up near Cockermouth, home and the beautiful Lake District are only about an hour away.

Mainly working at our Longtown branch, he has a truly mixed role, with time split equally between work in the surgery with small animals and time spent out and about treating cows, sheep, horses and goats.

In his spare time he enjoys walking the fells with his 2 border terriers, helping out on the farm at home, watching rugby, and has recently been renovating a house.

Katie Hayton
BVM&S MRCVS

Katie was brought up on a farm in the Scottish Borders and graduated from Edinburgh University in July 2008. She subsequently began her career in mixed practice in Berwickshire and then spent 6 months travelling around New Zealand before returning to the UK to locum up and down the country; from Wiltshire to the Isle of Lewis!

Katie joined Capontree in March 2012. She mainly works out of our Brampton branch and consults at Longtown two afternoons a week. Her main interests are small animal surgery and large animal medicine.

In her spare time Katie enjoys cooking, baking and preserving, gardening and walking her Border Terriers Bramble & Thistle. She has also recently started riding again after a long break.

Brian Mundell
BVM&S MRCVS

Brian joined Capontree after graduating from Edinburgh in 2012, Brian settled in well, joining a local rugby team, continuing a life long association with the sport. As well as rugby, Brian is a keen and highly skilled sheep shearer – a skill he developed on the family farm, Brian has even won trophies for his shearing at events including the Highland Show.

Brian recently returned from a 7-month working holiday (veterinary work and shearing) in New Zealand, where he learnt a huge amount about different approaches to veterinary care. He works in all sectors of the practice though he has a special interest in large animal work.

Chloe Brown
BVMS MSc MRCVS

Chloe joined the practice in July 2016 after graduating from Glasgow University. From the outskirts of Glasgow, she spent many weeks helping with milking and lambing on the local farms.

Chloe is looking forward to getting involved with all areas of mixed practice, with a particular interest in the large animal work. She spent last December in California working alongside other vets on the dairy farms. She has a particular soft spot for gun dog breeds after having grown up with a mad German Shorthaired Pointer!

In her spare time Chloe enjoys baking and hill walking and is looking forward to making the most of living on the edge of the Lake District.

Emma Stuart
BSc. (Hons) BVM&S MRCVS

Emma joined Capontree in September 2016 and can be found working mainly from our Brampton and Haltwhistle surgeries.

Emma grew up on a small dairy farm in the West of Ireland and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2014.

Having also completed an intercalated degree in Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College in London, she has developed an interest in post-mortem disease diagnosis and laboratory analyses, especially faecal fluke and worm counts.

After graduation, she spent 7 months in New Zealand, four months of which was spent working on a 2,100-head dairy farm during the calving season. While there, aside from calving a lot of cows, she was involved in the rearing of 600 heifer calves, leading to an interest in calf health, nutrition and management. She was also particularly fond of caring for the (many!) downer cows, and managed to get most of them back on their feet.

Emma then headed home to the West of Ireland for 18 months, working in mixed practice and mostly dealing with dogs, cats and small beef and sheep farms. However, the draw of dairy cattle proved too great, and she has moved back to the UK to pursue her interests.

During her spare time, Emma can usually be found walking Moss, her energetic Collie x Spaniel, or rock-climbing. She also enjoys photography, traveling to exotic places and taking her dog to agility classes.

Fiona Laurie
BVMS MRCVS

Fiona joined us in March 2017 after a spell in mixed practice in Scotland. She is a local, being well known to most of the farming community and we're delighted to have her back.

Jim Clapp - Consultant
BVM&S MSc phD MRCVS

Jim is with us as a veterinary consultant on the large animal side. He brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of livestock veterinary practice.